Environmental partners monitor GHG emissions

Carbon footprint in food products are measured by the GHG outputs at each stage of the food supply chain – from farm production through the manufacturing process, to the final product. Defra and the Carbon Trust are currently working with the British Standards Institution (BSI) to develop a robust, consistent approach for measuring GHGs, which organisations can use to calculate and reduce the GHG emissions of the products that they manufacture. ADAS has been appointed to lead a two-phase project that will test and apply this approach. In phase one, ADAS will test the draft BSI methodology for the GHG measurement on a range of commodity foods including beef, lamb and bread wheat. And in the second stage of work, ADAS will apply the newly modified and improved measurement system to a new range of products such as chicken meat and strawberries, and also revisit testing on the original commodities to provide increased accuracy. This will provide a range of GHG footprints at the pre-farm gate stage. Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association are testing footprints at the post-farm gate (manufacturing) stage, and by adding these together, this gives the total GHG of the final processed products. The results can be used to assess not only the green credentials of different food supply chains and different products, but also the relative efficiency of organic over conventional farming and self-sufficiency over importation. As well as indicating those parts of the food chain that are GHG 'hotspots', the project will provide a tool to predict the environmental impacts of future food production methods, helping the move towards a lo-carbon economy. Jeremy Wiltshire, ADAS senior consultant, said: "The process of gathering GHG data is fairly complex – we devise a Process Diagram for each product, charting all GHG outputs. It's essential that every component is accounted for, from the fuels burned by the tractor, to gases emitted in soil processes and during storage of commodities." Phase one of the project will be completed in March, and phase two is expected to be finished by December.